Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to gathering data and, more particularly, to gathering communication data in an enterprise using distributed collectors.
Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
A company (“enterprise”) may use software to manage the use of different types of communications (e.g., email, video conferencing, collaboration suite, productivity suite, and the like). An enterprise may use software, such as Dell® Unified Communications Command Suite (UCCS) or the like, to manage communication applications, such as, for example, Microsoft® Exchange® (e.g., email), Skype for Business (e.g., videoconferencing, audio conferencing, instant messaging, screen sharing, or the like), Microsoft® Office (e.g., document creation and management), Cisco® Unified Communications Manager (e.g., collaboration suite), and the like. Typically, such software uses a centralized system architecture in which a system administrator configures various services (e.g., to collect, store, and query data associated with the use of communication applications) during the initial deployment of the software.
Such an architecture may work for small enterprises or large centralized organizations. However, a centralized system architecture in which services are configured during the deployment of the management software may not be well suited for large enterprises with distributed communication deployments. For example, the service configurations created during deployment may not be ideal when enterprise network conditions vary, particularly in a distributed environment that includes multiple data centers, servers, and devices distributed across multiple countries, and using a variety of network devices supporting different bandwidths. As another example, the software may encounter difficulties when attempting to gather data from different entities at periodic intervals (e.g., once a day), to provide a snapshot of the environment. As a further example, when server maintenance is being performed, performing data collection may cause the in-service servers to become overloaded, resulting in collection delays or denial of access to the servers. In addition, to minimize the impact to business activities, the software should take into account the business requirements for critical resources when performing data collection. Thus, a centralized system architecture in which a system administrator configures services to collect, store, and query data associated with the use of communication applications during the initial deployment of the software may not be suited for large enterprises with distributed communication deployments.